From Darkness to Light
by Rugiku
Summary: Pre-PMD 2. Grovyle/Heroine timeline. Chapter 10: "Oh, I love you so much!" Nagi swooped forward and enveloped Grovyle in a crushing hug. There was nothing left to do but pat her on the shoulder until she let him breathe again. Definitely not a good idea..
1. Message

**Little drabbly series I've come up with while travelling. I ended up playing my explorers of Time again and decided to write a little prologue as in when your character is a human and is partnered to Grovyle. Most chapters should be in the past… or future… or well, before the official plotline begins.**

**Disclaimer: This story being on this site completely contradicts the need for a disclaimer.**

**Warnings: These drabbles will be more violent and dark than the actual game (which is rated K if you mix game standards and FF.N). **

**Btw, I will name the Hero (or in this case, Heroine) 'Nagi'. I can write better if written from a female point of view. Hope no one minds!**

Message

"And so, you are the fourth team to be assigned the task of halting the paralysis that has befallen our dark land. No other team has been able to restart time obviously, so… Good Luck," The messenger Pidgey sullenly added, "You're gonna need it."

"Is that all?" The grass lizard scowled and tapped its foot with impatience while the human girl sitting on the floating boulder cast the bird a glare.

The Pidgey sniffed and turned tail.

"Sure. It's not like you're going to succeed any time soon so, I'm outta here!" And it took off.

The newly formed team stared at the fading dirty splotch of brown as it flapped its way into the darkness.

"Name?"

The girl shifted on her boulder to face the Pokémon she had been paired with. The Pokémon glanced at her and shrugged.

"Grovyle. Just Grovyle."

The girl smirked and asked, "What? No original name?"

Grovyle scowled and muttered that he saw no point.

Snorting, the girl jumped off her perch, dusted her clothes off then picked up her pack from the ground.

"Fine then, Green Bean. The name's Nagi. Just Nagi."

"So, where do we start?"

**Just an introduction. I'll upload the second chapter once:**

**Someone reviews or;**

**No one reviews for a day.**

**Yes, I am impatient.**

**Just review and tell me what you think or if you need clarification. **

**If you want this story to be a reader insert instead (e.g instead of 'Nagi' it's [name]), please tell me through review or PM. Although, I originally intended this story to be non-reader insert since it would have more impact and feeling but if you think it needs to feel more personal, that's okay.**

**Reviews are like Power Bands to my Bite.**


	2. Corner

**Back again and very excited about updating.**

**Thanks to CatwithSunglasses for the review.**

**I may publically reply to reviews so keep looking up here in the Author's Notes.**

**These drabbles will have a basic timeline as in they will follow normal events chronologically.**

Corner

"We know that Temporal Tower has collapsed and Dialga's mind along with it."

Nagi and Grovyle had stopped in an alcove in the face of a crumbling cliff face after a few hours of walking.

Scratchy writing filled the notebook's first page as Nagi wrote down all the information she knew.

"This had begun when the Time Gears had been stolen from Temporal Tower, causing the collapse. This thief, whether Pokémon or human is currently unknown and at large but we can determine that the thief's goal is to have complete darkness consume the land; Temporal Tower's destruction and the complete stoppage of time." Grovyle continued. Nagi nodded and quickly scrawled the new information down onto paper before pausing.

"This team must work," Nagi tapped her pen against the paper in her hand. "All good teams are built on firm and unwavering trust."

Grovyle narrowed his eyes, foreseeing a troublesome topic.

Okay, he knows that he's terrible with sappy talks about love and trust; things unwanted in his world.

Nagi stared pointedly at Grovyle. "If we can't trust each other now, we can't become a fully functioning team. I'll bet that the tension between our races caused the failure of the previous teams."

The girl dropped her pen and pad into her bag on the floor and crossed her arms.

"We both don't need to remember what happened to the past three attempts."

Grovyle pushed the gruesome memories back into the corner reserved for 'we'll get back to these after we save the world, _then_ vomit'.

…That was a pretty big corner.

**Reviews are Apples to my Treasure Bag.**


	3. Extinction

**Back again.**

Extinction

"Where are your family? What really happened to all of the humans? Why did you decide to do this job?"

Grovyle was full of questions concerning Nagi and thus, he felt the need to ask them while in the middle of a Monster House full of irate Pokémon in Chasm Cave.

"I think now is not the best time!" Cried Nagi as she cut down a Ditto posing as herself with her _Naginata_; a heavy, collapsible staff with a knife embedded in one end.

"I think now may be the _only_ time!" Shouted back Grovyle as he was raked by claws and snapping teeth.

Nagi grimly reached into her satchel and groped for items that simply weren't there. "If we make it out of here, I'll tell you. Just focus on survival right now."

Grovyle gritted his teeth and scanned the area.

Hemmed in a corner, no walls, and attackers from all sides.

All sides?

No walls?

Chasm Cave + Monster House = Quick way out.

"Nagi, cover me!" Grovyle turned and slashed at the floating Driftblim that had been Sucker Punching him for the past couple of minutes.

Nagi shouted an agreement and cut down a swathe of Pokémon only to have more replacing them.

One Leaf Blade later, purple and yellow strips of Driftblim floated into the darkness along with ill-smelling gases.

"What now, Grovyle?" Nagi's swing flew wide and the Grumpig took the chance to use Psychic to catapult the girl into the darkness.

At least this saves me having to convince her to jump into the abyss, thought Grovyle as he jumped for Nagi.

Looping a thin arm around Nagi's waist, they faded into the darkness.

All too soon, their short flight ended.

Nagi and Grovyle hit the ground hard, bouncing a little before settling with the dust.

With a groan, Grovyle eased his way up and winced as he felt a twinge in his spine and ribs.

"I can never get used to you never screaming, Nagi." Commented the Pokémon.

With a grunt, Nagi levered herself into a crumpled but upright position. "I think you broke a rib, Grovyle. And I was taught not to scream when I was young."

Grovyle wearily scanned the area and sighed in relief when he deduced that it was the end of the dungeon. "I think we're safe for now. Now can you answer my question?"

Nagi and Grovyle sat in the most shadowy corner that was closest to the exit portal of Chasm Cave and lay there, resting.

"You remember how the Highland is now a crumbling lump of floating rock?" Grovyle nodded.

Nagi lay back and began her story.

"I was born to the last dregs of the human race on a crumbling island. Well, now the island has wasted away but it used to be connected to the mainland. When it started to crumble and people fell off, a group of… Survivalists, you could say, (including me) tried convincing the rest of the population to move off the island. They threw us off their dying utopia and in a way, saved us." Nagi shifted uncomfortably.

"I was lucky. I managed to jump for the edge of the mainland and made it along with a few others. Those others were the rescue teams before us, and we already knew what happened to them."

Grovyle remembered their deaths; long, painful-looking and lots of blood-spraying flailing around.

Nagi shrugged. "I think that's why I want to try seeing the sun rise in this land again. I want to do it for all of my people… or at least the ones that cared."

Grovyle looked at the girl and saw her for what she really was; a lonely girl not even mature yet (he couldn't talk) and she was trying to make a difference to her world before she faded away.

Said girl suddenly snorted.

"To think that I'm the dregs of a proud race that managed to endanger itself by falling off a rock."

Grovyle huffed in suppressed amusement. "Do you like that? 'Nagi, the last human.'"

"That's the thing," Nagi's lips twisted into a bitter smile.

"Your race is so obscure there's basically nothing left anyway."

**Angsty sort of at the end. Ugh. Better than fluffy, I guess…**

**Anyway, reviews are like the reviver seeds to an expedition in Zero North Isle. (lol)**


	4. NonExistent Stars

**Another drabble but I'm not particularly sure what to make of it… **

**Awfully fluffy this is. .**

Non-existent Stars

There was a frozen waterfall.

Well, it was frozen in time, that is.

Nagi and Grovyle were thirsty and their water supply had run out so they stopped like any other normal traveller would.

"Whoa, this is so weird…" Nagi poked the suspended water and watched it wobble away in almost zero gravity.

"That's weird?" Grovyle pulled out a bottle and scooped up some water and shook. "Look at this."

Nagi looked into the bottle and was astounded to see the liquid being normal; sloshing around at the bottom of the metal flask.

"So if you have enough together, the laws of physics apply then?" Nagi looked at the waterfall and frowned. "Then why is the larger body of water still frozen…"

Grovyle smiled inwardly as he watched Nagi struggle with the impossible physics in her head with a frown on her face.

Nagi prodded the liquid then gathered up a handful of water and suddenly threw it a Grovyle. Splattered with water, Grovyle scowled at Nagi.

"Was there any warrant for that?" He asked.

Smiling, Nagi nodded mysteriously and opened her Naginata. Starting in a pose with the blade down near her ankle, the girl whirled the blade and sliced through the water. Using the flat of the blade, she lightly struck the suspended liquid, causing it to break and spray out over the area.

The liquid scattered over the area but still managed to stay afloat and slowing down to a stop like a sheet over the ground.

Later, the water was scattered all over the place in a rough dome and it was hard to move without water soaking into skin or clothes. Collapsing the weapon, Nagi got down on her hands and knees and crawled to the middle of the watery cave and lay on her back.

"Come in, Grovyle. I'm going to try something." Nagi patted the dry earth beside her. Curious, Grovyle crawled in with her and squinted in the fading light.

Placing a little orb on the floor, Nagi placed her hand on it and twisted gently. The Luminous Orb opened at the top and released a soft, white-blue light.

The light danced across the droplets in the air like stars that had disappeared long before the two had been born. They were false stars, but their stars nonetheless.

Laying back, Nagi and Grovyle looked up at the faux stars.

"Can you see any constellations?" Grovyle asked.

Nagi was silent for a while then pointed at a patch of droplets on their left.

"Krabby."

Grovyle squinted at the group of suspended liquid and a shape resembling a crab raising a claw appeared.

"Hm… Yeah, I see it."

Looking over to the right, Grovyle pointed.

"Lucario Constellation."

Nagi tilted her head and after a moment of consideration, she said, "Lopunny. It looks more like a Lopunny."

Grovyle pulled a face and pointed at another.

"That's you."

"Huh?"

"That star is you."

Nagi squinted at the little droplet above them.

"But that's tiny!" Grovyle audibly snickered and was rewarded with an elbow in the ribs.

"Fine then. That's you, then."

Nagi pointed a large misshapen globule of liquid near their feet.

"Uh… how?" Grovyle looked quizzically at the girl next to him.

"Look how big it is compared to everything else…"

Grovyle looked at Nagi as if she were crazy.

"And…?"

"It's the size of your ego."

The Pokémon glared at the girl before pointing at two droplets side by side, surrounded by mini water particles.

"That's us then," said Grovyle.

"Really?" Nagi looked at the grouping of water.

"Well, we are looking at stars right now. If you stretch your imagination… a lot."

Nagi smiled gently and agreed.

"…"

"Well, I'm going to sleep now. G'night!"

Grovyle awkwardly rolled over and shut his eyes, pretending to sleep.

"M'kay…" Nagi reached over and shut the Luminous Orb and shoved it in her pack nearby. The human rolled on her side and was silent.

"Thanks Grovyle…" Came from the darkness.

The Pokémon was puzzled. "What did I do?"

"Mm… Nothing. Just thanks for still being here."

_Okay…_ Grovyle closed his eyes again and went to sleep but he held that little flutter of emotion that had flashed through his heart at that moment.

~~-/O.O/-~~

It was safe to say that the two woke up drenched in water as the suspended liquid lost their gravity defying trait all at once for some reason.

"This is your fault, Nagi," Growled Grovyle as he shook the water off his leaves. "We're _never_ doing that again!"

Nagi just spluttered in agreement.

**Well, that was a strange one.**

**I had the image of them looking at stars and pointing them out to one another but then I realised they probably wouldn't have any in the future…**

**How depressing.**


	5. Thoughts

**This idea was just poking me in the head so I wrote it down to get rid of it.**

Thoughts

"They say that the sky is blue up higher than the clouds."

Nagi and Grovyle were walking through a thin forest that hid nothing and revealed nothing. Grovyle looked up and tried to remember the texts that he had read as a Treeko before humans wiped his race out.

"I think they said that the sky could be many colours." Grovyle was struggling to remember the names of the colours but tripped on a root of a suspicious looking tree.

"Ow…" The green Pokémon rubbed his foot in pain while Nagi threatened the Sudowoodo with her water bottle.

"How about we stop here for now?" Nagi suggested after the tree-imitating Pokémon ran away.

Grovyle nodded and sat on a tree stump, nursing his bruised foot.

"Have you noticed that the temperature is always the same?" Grovyle poked the earth between his feet. "It's never cold, or too hot."

"Yeah, it's so quiet all the time and the humidity never changes either."

They were silent for a while.

"Do you think it was different in the past?" Nagi asked.

"Maybe."

Grovyle suddenly remembered one of the colours.

"Pink."

"Huh?"

"They wrote that the sky sometimes turned pink and orange. Maybe red. But usually it was blue."

"Oh, good. I thought you were talking about your favourite colour…"

Grovyle punched Nagi in the arm as she laughed.

**How come I never think up anything that's actually good?**

**Reviews are like Perfect Apples to Wigglytuff. **_**Chuck **_**~*/.O/**


	6. Another  Doubt

**The chapters before was something like fillers so back to the main drabble/story/plotline…**

**This one's a long one so I've split it into two parts.**

**-Edit- Sorry, guys I'm updating this. I can't change the little rhyme on the stone tablet because I fail at poetry (/shot). I've got a review that told me I have a bad habit of rewinding and playing with time so if you've read the previous one, kudos to you. If not, enjoy!**

Another – Part One

Doubt

Grovyle caught the limp figure of Nagi as she collapsed against the Coliseum wall.

"Ngh… What happened?" Nagi's dark eyes opened as she took in her surroundings.

"You fainted but you seem perfectly fine now. What's going on?" Grovyle let Nagi sit against a boulder.

"I-I… don't know," Nagi raised a trembling hand to her face, shock written all over it. A frown marred her features as a thought passed over her mind.

"We're looking for 'Time Gears', right?"

The girl suddenly had fierceness in her eyes that scared Grovyle and stunned, all Grovyle could do was nod.

Nagi retreated into her mind and Grovyle knew that once she began thinking, she wouldn't stop for anything. If she found reason to tell, she would tell in her own time.

Grovyle sighed and put his bag down and pulled out an Apple. Biting into it, Grovyle waited until Nagi was ready to move again.

An hour passed and Grovyle was becoming twitchy seeing as he was not the most patient Pokémon and he was almost relieved when Nagi plucked his third Apple from his hand.

"I want to check this place." She declared.

Grovyle rolled his eyes but stood and dusted himself off muttering, "You owe me an Apple."

Crumbling stone disturbed a thick layer of dust raising it into the air like a nose-irritating fog. Sneezing profusely, Nagi and Grovyle crawled through the gap they had made in the wall and slithered down loose rubble and shingle to the dust covered ground.

A cracked corridor led to a dusty door that hung ajar. Squeezing through the browned iron doors, the adventurers stared in awe of the lasting grandiose that adorned the great rows of cracked seats, graceful stone arches and dark openings to the scarred battle field the two walked on now.

In the middle, protected by high, spotted, metal gates, was an ageing pedestal; the wood podium had rotted to bits but behind was a cracked granite tablet with worn letters carved into the rock.

Nagi and Grovyle pushed the rusted gates aside and approached the tablet to find footprint runes inscribed on the surface.

_See the gifts of Arceus; its tears for the world foreseen. _

_For the Highland's denizens are 5 keys made from Time and Space;_

_the keys to fix a past and save a future._

_The map impossible to find but will always be there in your face._

In front of the pedestal were five piles of dusty fragments that seemed to suck in all of the darkness like a reflection of Nagi and Grovyle's frozen world. Scratched into the base of the pedestal in spiky, messy writing were four words:

_All hope is lost._

"So that's it then." Grovyle snarled in frustration, throwing his worn bag into the dust.

"We came all this way, had the entire Highland's hopes on our shoulders and suffered so much pain only to find out that our only hope of restarting time had been broken on a _whim_?"

Grovyle's escalating voice echoed hollowly through the empty coliseum as Nagi just stood silently by like a statue. The Pokémon couldn't stand anymore, falling to his knees as the problems of the world crashed upon his shoulders.

Something touched him then… or rather a thin, worn hand that Grovyle had come to trust over the weeks travelling with their owner. Looking up, he saw Nagi smile weakly.

"It's okay. We'll think of something, Grovyle," This infuriated the Pokémon, though. He slapped Nagi's hand away and shouted, "What is there to think about? Let alone hope, this trash on the floor was our only chance!" Grovyle wrung his hands in frustration. "I knew there was something wrong when the Survival Guild paired us up. We were signing up for a wild Psyduck chase!"

Grovyle scooped up a shard of Gear and flung it at the granite, smashing the black glass to powder.

"Grovyle! Stop it, what's your problem?" Nagi grabbed the Pokémon's arm before he threw the next piece of Time Gear closest to him.

"What's _my_ problem? YOU'RE the problem! If your race hadn't threatened to wipe out every species of Pokémon, we wouldn't be in this mess." Grovyle ripped his arm away from Nagi as her face contorted into anger.

"So now you're blaming it on humans now? What does the flow of time slowing have to do with the humans' extinction of Pokémon?" Nagi cried.

"Everything! Your people chased away the Legendaries and destroyed our land. You poisoned the water and plants. You ate up everything until there was nothing left and when you were done, you screwed up our Temporal Tower!" Grovyle shot back.

"Humans have no more power in dabbling with time than normal Pokémon! We can't do anything either… oh wait, most of my species is at the bottom of the void now so I guess they don't have the chance to do anything about it _now_." Nagi snarled.

Grovyle, about to snap back, paused and looked carefully at Nagi, irritating her.

"What?"

"You knew that the Time Gears were broken."

The girl's eyes widened in shock and then melted into denial and hurriedly stifled guilt.

"N-no. Not before. Now I do." Nagi shifted awkwardly as her eyes slid to a point approximately three feet behind Grovyle which happened to be on the broken Time Gears.

"Why do you need to lie to me?" The Pokémon stared pointedly at Nagi. "I thought you said 'all good teams are built on firm and unwavering trust'."

"So, why do you not trust me?" Grovyle's question was soft, but held all the weight of the Highland and all the denizens on it.

The human was silent for a while and played with her fingers, tugging on them nervously.

"I had… a vision when I touched the wall of the coliseum outside. That's why I wanted to see the inside of the coliseum." Nagi's body language screamed 'that's-all-I'm-going-to-say-so-go-away-please'.

Grovyle scowled and said, "You're keeping something from me."

Nagi obstinately kept her mouth closed this time.

With a frustrated growl, Grovyle examined the tablet again while Nagi stalked away, fuming.

The two did not talk for about an hour and throughout that time, Grovyle read and re-read the tablet and the footprint rune inscription in an attempt to glean some secret knowledge or be enlightened by Arceus itself.

Whichever came first.

"-keys… locks… Gears and Temporal Tower. So what's the map? We need the map…" Grovyle paced and muttered to himself.

Grovyle glanced at Nagi's crouched figure, hearing the occasional curse from her general direction. He knew he should really apologise; she wasn't guilty of the sins of her people, after all. That did not mean that she was to be trusted, though.

Grovyle scowled at the floor; how did he get to this point? He was soft, too trusting and all that happened was that he was let down. Grovyle was amazed at how the human a couple of feet away managed to crack his heart open and expose it to her 'love' and her talks about how they would make time start again, see the sunrise and do all of the things that were _impossible _now.

Grovyle was sure if she still proved useless after the left the coliseum, he would kill her.

And his thoughts moved full circle and returned to dismantle any meaning left in the inscription on the stone.

_A map that is impossible to find or see… _

_Unless it was a map in someone's head._

_So who has the map?_

Grovyle's eyes wandered over to Nagi again and it hit him.

Nagi was the 'map'.

If she 'saw' the broken gears in a vision but never knew they were inside the coliseum before entering it, she must have found out when she collapsed outside. Theoretically, she then could find any Time Gear if she used her power. If she could find the Gears, he still had a shot.

_But the Gears are broken now,_ some annoying voice whined in his head.

_Only in _this_ world are the Gears broken,_ Grovyle snidely thought back even though he himself did not know what to do anyway.

Great, now he was answering voices in his head.

**Grovyle isn't going crazy, he's becoming twisted. There's a fine difference.**

**Anyway, his mind twisting is part of the story so you'll eventually see what will happen.**

**I hope you liked this chapter~!**

**Reviews are like Time Gears for Temporal Tower.**

**Please review‼**


	7. Another  Human

**Part Two of the Another Chapter.**

**I hope you enjoy!**

**Oh, and the Disclaimer for all chapters past and future: I don't own all 650+ Pokémon nor do I own any of the characters, plotline, incidents and/or events; only Nagi. So please don't sue!**

** It took me seven chapters to realise I never put in a disclaimer. (Fail)**

Another – Part Two

Human

Something heavy landed outside the coliseum, setting the loose rocks a-rattling.

Wary, both human and Pokémon got into defensive positions, edging closer to one another for protection.

A faint, red light bled into the darkness of the corridor from where the heroes had entered the coliseum and an ominous shuffling, tapping noise echoed out of the opening.

The red faded away and the sounds stop, making the field quieter, more ominous and much more threatening.

Like a closed blind being pulled up to reveal the sun, a great eyelid slid up and let a bloodshot red orb glare out from the darkness. A cloaked figure slipped out from behind the door along with a squat, dark monster and ran headlong into Nagi, knocking her to the ground.

In a fluid movement, the newcomer stood and pulled Nagi up, beginning to pull her away from the door which folded under the weight of none other than Dialga itself.

Enraged, the Time deity loosed a roar and a Dragon Pulse aimed poorly at the fleeing team. The ball of energy landed, raising little tongues of purple flame, scorching the flattened earth.

Nagi, Grovyle and the newcomers were aiming for one of the partially collapsed corridors to hide in. The two Pokémon, easily outstripping the humans in speed were about to jump into the hollow before there was an odd pressure change and with a _pop_ time jumped backwards a few seconds, turning air-filled lungs into vacuums, almost collapsing the organs.

Grovyle choked on the time change and tripped. Struggling to stand again, the grass Pokémon was half dragged by Nagi as she passed and pulled the green Pokémon rather unceremoniously into the temporary shelter. Not that he minded since another Dragon Pulse singed his toes.

Gasping, the four struggled to steady their breathing and hide as deep as possible in the shallow dimness, as the Legendary Pokémon stomped closer with unsteady strides.

Head looming close to the crack in the wall, Dialga peered into the darkness to find…

Nothing.

Losing interest, the Dialga concentrated and emanated a sickly shade of aqua then flew away, leaving nothing but flickering purple embers and craters for footprints.

All was quiet for a moment until in a puff of dust, the four survivors popped out of the ground from their Dig, spitting dirt.

Coughing, Nagi and Grovyle turned to find that their saviours were one whe-heh-heh-ing Sableye with a cracked eye and the other – under his cloak – was obviously and most definitely human.

"I can't believe Dialga would come all the way here…" muttered Nagi. The stranger, catching onto her words laughed nervously while cleaning his glasses on the edge of his cloak.

"Well, the Dialga was chasing me."

The boy's eyes wandered shyly until snapping back to the other human who laughed. Nagi didn't stop until she was bent over double, almost crying tears of mirth.

"What the hell did you do to piss off Dialga of all Legendaries?" Nagi wiped a tear, suppressing another bout of giggles as she saw the boy's shocked face.

"I think it hates humans or something," said the boy. "Why else would it come chasing after both of us?"

Nagi started to laugh again. "It was never after me, it was after you two!" This time, the boy started to laugh along with Nagi, the Sableye adding its 'whe-heh-heh' to the noise.

"Akira. You?" Akira offered a gloved hand to Nagi who took it.

"Nagi. Just Nagi."

As this exchange passed between the two humans, Grovyle's eyes narrowed; watching every gesture, absorbing every word.

If Nagi decided to travel with the other human, it would throw a wrench in Grovyle's plans of recovering the Time Gears.

And that was something that Grovyle would not let happen.

At. All. Cost.

The four were at Akira's hideout.

Well, it constituted of a large, luxurious living room with heaters, three bathrooms, three bedrooms, two kitchens (mostly empty), a laundry room, a sprawling network of empty corridors and rooms, and an underground greenhouse and mineral bath.

While Akira modestly explained that it was owned by his late parents and that he was rarely in the actual compound anyway, regardless.

The entire place was complete luxury in the eyes of Nagi and Grovyle.

"How is this whole place powered?" Nagi whispered in awe.

"Underground heating. There's an old lava channel and a generator that converts heat into energy. The energy is stored and whenever I come around, it's used." Akira smiled good-naturedly. "There are some places which have fallen off along with the Highland so be careful when you walk through some corridors."

While Nagi nodded, eyes sparkling with understanding the science, Grovyle stared blankly at the explanation. He was a Pokémon for Arceus' sake. It was humans' job to have a confusing explanation to anything and everything!

Akira shed his thick, grey cloak and dropped it on the floor along with his pack.

"You can leave your stuff here. It'll be safe; I'll have Sableye take it to your rooms. They're down the left corridor; you can't miss them." Akira waved a hand in the general direction while looking at a screen that popped out of his watch.

"Dinner in ten." Added the dark haired boy.

The one-eyed Sableye picked up his master's clothes and put them in a room and as Grovyle followed the other Pokémon down the corridor, it pointed to the door next to Akira's.

Grovyle, taking it as a sign that that room was his, turned the handle of the door warily and peered into the dark space, expecting a Zubat to fly out and attack him.

A clean, medium sized bunk, a chair and table were what greeted the green Pokémon.

Entering the room, he dropped his bag and proceeded to turn everything upside down and inspect every inch of the spotless room until Grovyle decided that as much as he mistrusted the new human, the room was not tapped, trapped or in any way suspicious in the least.

"So, what are you doing travelling the Highland?" asked the dark-haired boy.

Nagi looked at Akira, fingers playing across the thin, decorated leather strap around her wrist. While he was incredibly helpful, the bubble in which the boy was in seemed a little too perfect.

"I've been looking for other humans." Replied Nagi after a moment of thought. "My colony was wiped out so I'm looking for a new one to live with."

"Ah," Akira's face fell. "I've been travelling over the land for a while now and I know for a fact that there are no colonies left. I thought that there may be some survivors so I travelled, looking for them."

The boy grinned happily, "But now I know that I'm not all alone anymore. I have you!"

Nagi couldn't help but smile back to the childish grin.

"So, is there anything you specialise in?" Nagi asked curiously.

"Hm…. I'm a Scientist researching was to start time again, so Science I guess. I can show you the greenhouse later; I have some real, living plants in there!"

Nagi's eyes widened in shock.

"B-but that's impossible! Ever since time stopped, all growth stopped because it requires the passing of time. How can you have non-petrified,_ growing_ plants?"

"I'll show you it after dinner, okay? I'll tell you my secret." Akira winked conspiratorially and Nagi felt her face heat up suddenly.

Nervous, Nagi slid out from where Akira had almost pinned her against a bench and turned toward the sink.

"I'll help cook." Offered Nagi lamely.

"No, that's okay. You may as well unpack. I need to check on a few things, make sure that they're working. Maybe have a bath or something." Akira left the kitchen the two had wandered into and Nagi sagged against the fridge, clutching the bracelet around her right wrist.

_There's something weird going on here,_ thought the girl.

_Especially with _Dr Akira_._

For the first time in almost a year, Nagi and Grovyle were properly clean.

A real bath (it was actually _warm_) in the mineral pool helped soothe aches and bumps. Both Nagi and Grovyle were tempted to fall asleep.

Well, Nagi did and Grovyle had to pull the girl out.

"You're clean." Grovyle intelligently said after he dragged the girl out of the water.

"Uh, yeah. That's what usually happens when you take a bath." Nagi raised a brow quizzically at the Pokémon.

The Pokémon shrugged.

"I was convinced that your skin was dirt coloured."

At least the laundry was done by the time the two stopped fighting, exited the underground bath and found the clothes room again.

_**~-sand sharks and Easter eggs -~**_

Dinner was a quiet affair. Apples, berries, grains, bread and strips of something brown and fleshy were placed on the table along with jugs full of spring water and even milk.

Grovyle stuck to the fruit and water while everyone else ate the rest.

While Akira was digging around the freezer for a 'surprise' Nagi whispered to the squat, purple Pokémon next to her; "Hey, why don't you talk?"

The Sableye's eyes glimmered and cracked open its mouth before Akira appeared next to them proclaiming ice cream, forcing the Pokémon to hastily snap its mouth shut and face away from the humans.

On the other hand, Nagi had seen all that she needed to.

_The poor Pokémon has no tongue…_ thought the girl before pasting a grin onto her face, replacing the disgust and surprise.

"Cool, ice cream!" Nagi added, "No pun intended."

Grovyle rolled his eyes.

"That was a terrible joke."

"Here is the Greenhouse."

The Greenhouse was a giant dome of glass, leaking light into the cavern it was built into. Heat radiated out of the glass and warmed the earth while distorted shapes of trees were visible through the thick glass.

Opening the door, a wave of heat washed over the two humans as they entered the glass dome.

"Most of the energy that's in the generator is used here." Akira explained as he watched Nagi brush a hairy, green leaf with her fingers.

Grabbing her hand, he led Nagi into the centre of the dome. "I'll show you what lets everything in here grow."

In a flat patch of ground perfectly circular in shape, was a tiny, red orb which opened at the sides and rotated slowly, like a clock.

Reddish light spread out from an opening at the top, hitting the top of the glass dome and bouncing all over the place.

"I developed it; it's a Time Orb. Unfortunately, it needs to be charged regularly." Akira looked proudly at the little sphere on the ground.

"Is that why Dialga was chasing you before?" Nagi asked, already expecting the answer.

"Uh… Yeah. You caught me."

Nagi wandered around the garden for a little while and admired how the red light bounced all over, reflecting off her bracelet before wanting to go back for some rest.

The two chatted amicably and returned to find the one-eyed Sableye snap close a cupboard upon discovery.

"Hey, whatcha doing?" Nagi neared the fidgety Pokémon and instantly knew there was something wrong.

The Pokémon replied.

"N-nothing, miss…"

"Hm… Okay," Nagi smiled to the purple Pokémon before heading down the bedroom corridor, acting oblivious. "I'm going to bed. G'night!"

~-Half-an-hour before-~

Grovyle decided to poke around their host's living quarters.

Inside was bare, but not a speck of dust was found anywhere.

If the kid wasn't around very much, why was the whole place so clean? He couldn't have had enough time to clean up the place before Nagi and Grovyle arrived, neither did he have any other apparent companions aside from a single whe-heh-heh-ing assistant Pokémon.

And who uses a watch when there was no time to keep?

Frustrated, Grovyle wandered over to a room to search. Again; nothing but a spotless bathroom.

Moving on, the green Pokémon wrenched open a cupboard to find it empty. Looking down, the cupboard appeared to have no bottom. It was only after Grovyle's night vision came into play did he see dimly that the base of the cupboard was lower by about four feet. Wondering what Akira needed a sunken cupboard for, Grovyle almost missed the clacking of claws on the floor behind him.

Grovyle whirled around to come face to face with the one-eyed Sableye.

"Oh, it's you," Grovyle opened the cupboard door a little wider for an easier get away. "What do you want?"

The Sableye grinned a little wider and raised a fist and swung. Grovyle jerked back out of instinct but a shadow flew out of the quick punch and slugged him hard under the chin. The wood gecko Pokémon fell back, head striking the back of the cupboard and falling into the sunken cupboard cage, he saw the Sableye with a malicious leer easing the cupboard doors closed.

He hoped desperately that Nagi would come get him even though if Grovyle didn't need her, he would abandon the girl without a second thought.

He was such a selfish being.

**Yay! Finished the first (second half) really heavy chapter in this series. From now on, it will probably be more on the actual storyline planned so, happy reading!**

**Please review!**

**Also, food for thought.**

**Take note of the Time Orb. It'll make an appearance in the future!**

**Since Black and White have come out, should I include 5****th**** gen Pokémon too? Should I use Jap or English spelling of their names if I do use them?**

_**Help me decide‼**_

**Oh, and the Sand Sharks are from another fic I was reading. If you want to know which one, ask!**

**Happy Easter~!**

**-edit- I edited this after getting a review that told me I had made a few mistakes. Hope you like it!**


	8. Despair

**Okay, now that I've established that not all is sunshine and lollipops in the future (not that it was in the first place). **

**Checkpoint of what's happened so far:**

**Basically, humans move onto the Highland, Legendaries go into hiding, Humans find Legendaries and exploit them, Pokémon start fighting back and humans almost wipe them out save for some tenacious species'. The Treekos, Grovyles and Sceptiles are almost wiped out save for a scant 20 scattered around the (unbroken) Highland. Humans become extinct over time save for two (Nagi and Akira) due to the crumbling of the Highland and the Pokémon seeing it as a chance to attack the humans. Grovyle (as a Treeko) decides to ignore human transgressions, train hard and try to restore the Highland back to its former glory. Five years later, Nagi and Grovyle are paired up by the Survival Guild; a guild dedicated to bringing time back to the Highland, the two travel for almost a year and meet Akira and yes, if you've been reading everything should fall into place.**

Despair and Hope

The halls of Akira's fort were surprisingly cold at night. Nagi crept along the shadows and made her way to a certain cupboard carrying two knapsacks; one hers and the other her partner's who was currently unconscious at the bottom of said cupboard. Probably.

Nagi arrived at the cupboard and tried the handle, praying it wouldn't creak. It turned out that Akira kept his furniture in fairly good condition for someone who wasn't in the vicinity most of the time. Aside from that, when Nagi opened the door, she spotted Grovyle crumpled at the bottom.

Reaching for Grovyle, he was just out of reach even if she lay flat on her belly, almost falling in herself. Looking around, she spotted a walking stick leaning against a wall in an umbrella stand. Grabbing the staff, she manoeuvred the curved end under Grovyle's chest and hauled on the stick to bring the Pokémon within reach. Nagi heaved and managed to drag the Pokémon half her weight onto level ground.

"Grovyle… Hey, Green Bean! Wake up already." Nagi shook Grovyle but he just lay there like a vegetable, albeit a breathing one.

Sighing in exasperation, Nagi almost resorted to slapping him but decided to leave first. After all, what would one think if you found your guests (one unconscious and the other slapping the former) trying to leave in the middle of the night?

Looping one skinny, green arm over her shoulder, Nagi struggled to her feet and dragged Grovyle toward the exit. She turned a corner, and crept closer to the entrance which was a large, ornate, solid oak door. Nagi gripped Grovyle harder and dragged him closer, letting go of his back to twist the handle with an echoing creak that set her teeth on edge.

_Cri-cri-cri-cri-clunk~_

_Locked, and I don't have anything tho pick it with, _Nagi thought in frustration.

"Going somewhere?" Nagi jumped and stumbled on one of Grovyle's limp feet as she turned to see Akira with his Sableye at its master's side.

Akira was dressed in his casual blue-collared white shirt and matching slacks with his sword strapped to his side. His head tilted in expectation, making the dim light of a far away candle ghost over the lenses of his glasses.

"Getting some fresh air." Nagi mumbled lamely. "I think Grovyle kind of needs it." Said Pokémon's head lolled back pathetically and hit the door with a solid thunk.

"Why not just bring him to me? I can fix him up." Akira stepped closer and his hand brushed the hilt of his sword.

"I know you're a doctor but I like to take care of my own, thanks." Nagi's tone was firm as she casually slipped a hand into her bag, feeling the smooth edge of an Orb.

Akira chuckled, it being more sinister than reassuring. Drawing his sword with an echoing ring, the doctor advanced, the blade gleaming with a strange, light-purple sheen. "The great advantage of being a doctor is that you have resources from some long dead species. For example, the poison of a Croagunk can kill a human in less than three minutes." The sheen on the blade caught the faint light of the distant candle, curving along the metal's edge mirroring Akira's sneer. "I've heard that it's excruciatingly painful."

"Not if you can't hit them!" Nagi flung the random orb pulled out of her bag at the floor, praying that it was useful in some way and wouldn't blow up in her face. The Orb cracked as it hit the floor, emitting a blinding, white-blue light and in a flash Nagi, Grovyle and the chunk of the floor they had been standing upon had disappeared, leaving Akira and the Sableye blinking in the dark like stunned Spinda.

Nagi and Grovyle hit the ground with a thud outside the underground tunnel that led to Akira's fortress. Nagi looked around in confusion and realised where she was. Struggling under the weight of Grovyle, she headed toward the closest area of dungeon even though the two were badly lacking in the items department.

As Nagi entered the thick, grey shrubbery, twigs and hidden hollows snagged at her boots, causing her to occasionally stumble or collapse under Grovyle's weight. Carrying 21.6 kg of useless Grovyle + 2 bags in darkness + a forest determined to trip you with every step you take x running away from a possible attack = a very short-tempered Nagi.

Not that she was any good at Maths anyway.

Nagi's foot snagged on a dark rock for the umpteenth time and fell face first into the grass for the umpteenth time. Cursing her luck she twisted around, rolling Grovyle onto a patch of moss and peering at the boulder. A passing Volbeat wandered close and Nagi asked for a little light.

As the little patch of wood lit up, Nagi found that what she had tripped on was not a rock, but a dead body: specifically a Sableye with a cracked eye and no tongue. The girl sat in silence, petting the rough skin around the dark Pokémon's ears, humming a soft, mournful tune joined by a soft whir of bug's wings. Nagi stood and turned to a passing Volbeat.

"Can you help a fellow Pokémon have a good resting place?" Nagi looked hopefully at the firefly Pokémon which then called over a few other creatures. An hour later, a small mound was built over the small body and farewells said to the helpful Pokémon. It wasn't often that you'd find more than one Pokémon willing to help another, particularly a human.

Grovyle, who had been lying forgotten on his patch of algae, awoke with a groan. Rubbing his head he moaned, "What time is it?"

Nagi scowled at the confuddled Pokémon.

Nagi had begun limping ever since Grovyle was ready to move. Now the pain was lancing up Nagi's leg, the limb threatening to buckle with every step. It was only her bull-headedness that kept her going but even her determination was crumbling under the rhythmic shots of pain. To make matters worse, Grovyle insisted – being the one out of the two designed to live in dark forests – on moving at an almost breakneck pace, not even stopping once to look at Nagi's injury.

Dark Forest lived up to its name, being darker than the inside of a Swalot's belly at night. Stumbling around blind was dangerous, stumbling around blind with an injury was worse.

Stumbling around in the dark with a leg injury and barely any items was about as worse as you could get.

Well, there was _dead_ in the dark with a leg injury and no items…

'_Why do I feel like I've been dumped on?' _wondered Nagi, fighting the urge to vomit.

"Grovyle, slow down will you? I can't see in the dark like you can!" She groped in the darkness until she grabbed a slender arm. Or it could just as well be a wild Pokémon or just a tree branch instead.

"Yeah! Slow down and give the lady some time to rest. She's injured," The branch/Pokémon/thing Nagi was holding squeaked. Seeing as it talked meant it was all of the above, or at least living.

The human yelped and released the Pokémon as it flared into existence, emitting a soft pink-green glow. Long, pink antennae stroked the human's surprised face as sparkles sprinkled down from beating gossamer wings. Big, green, soulful eyes amusedly stared at the two, both squinting in the sudden change in light.

"It's been generations since I've seen a human cooperate with the forest's Pokémon without once being attacked. You have a strong faith, human." The fluttering pink Pokémon toned down the Legendary Pokémon glow and allowed the travellers to squint in relative comfort.

"So you've been watching us ever since we entered the Forest," stated Nagi. "Figures, for the guardian of Dark Forest."

The Pokémon laughed, the joyful sound tinkling through the empty room. "Well, it seems that I've had the compassion to come out of hiding and help two young travellers in their adventure."

"What makes it seem that we need any help?" Grovyle snapped, thoroughly displeased with the annoying, attention-drawing light show.

The floating Pokémon stared at the other incredulously. "She's injured for one thing; do you really care for your comrades like this all the time?"

Grovyle glanced at the oozing wound on Nagi's thigh, large splinters visibly stabbed through the shiny, red flesh in the unpleasant cut. "I didn't notice. Why didn't you tell me before, Nagi?"

The Legendary Pokémon glowered at the green Pokémon and floated closer, spreading her light closer to the wound, exposing more of the gruesome laceration.

"It's definitely infected, maybe poisoned by a plant. Feeling tired, cold and hungry? Getting the sweats?" Nagi nodded weakly and promptly collapsed.

"Yep, it's the Spinarak's poison." Grovyle determined, spotting a glob of sticky, white residue on the human's ankle.

"I'll help you both so do me a favour and carry her. I kinda like this kid." Said the Pokémon. Grovyle raised a brow.

"Celebi."

"Ah, okay."

Grovyle hoisted the girl onto his back, hoping the trip wasn't too far seeing as he was carrying both the bags and a human two-and-a-half times his weight. He was glad that Nagi couldn't read minds in her sleep.

Celebi's house was part of a hollowed out living tree, impossible to notice from the outside, but was full of wooden furnishings telekinesified* out of the organism itself. A knot in the wood yawned open allowing the Pokémon plus dead-to-the-world human into its warm belly.

Nagi was put in a bed Celebi happened to have lying around the house which was in the room adjacent to a little kitchen.

Celebi returned with a bowl of water and a rag, proceeding to cast an Aromatherapy on the ill human who had turned a pallid grey and her breathing was shallow and laboured. The Time Traveller Pokémon slopped water over the wound and rubbed vigorously, tearing off dying skin and drawing out septic blood, making Nagi moan weakly in her sleep. Grovyle winced at the brutality of the scrubbing, watching as shreds of skin were scraped off the leg and dropped into the bloody bowl.

"If you can't handle watching this then get out, kid," Celebi snapped without turning from her task. "This is a woman's job. Trust a boy to be squeamish when it comes to medicine."

Grovyle scowled at the pink Legendary and resolutely stared at the procedure until it was done, trying not to retch all the way through. Nagi had returned to a slightly more normal shade of white and a clean, white bandage was wrapped tightly around her ankle.

"What're you still doing here?" snapped Celebi, hands on her tiny, pink hips. "She needs rest so get out!"

After Celebi shooed Grovyle out of the room, he decided to poke around the base.

A flight of gnarled steps led into the second floor forming a storeroom for various berries, fruits, legumes and orbs for all occasions. As the staircase ascended further into the tree, little knotholes in the wood opened up to the outside world.

Little trees carpeted the forest while tiny Pokémon scurried, crawled, flew and squatted in the mud below the tree line. In the distance was the miniscule form of a crumbling tower, greyed rocks held suspended in time silhouetted against the yellowed sky of twilight; light enough to see where you were walking but too dark to be the sun. Had it been three seconds before, this side of the Highland would have a few rays of sunlight while the rest sat in the dusk. Such was life; it was full of bad luck.

The slight headache that had been drilling away at Grovyle's skull ever since they left Akira's underground fortress returned in full force, pounding against the inside of his skull like a rampaging Slakoth with a mallet trying to escape the confines of his head. Squeezing both sides of his head thinking _'so this is what a Psyduck feels like all the time', _he suddenly found himself upside down clutching the edge of the stair he had fell off… with his toes.

"Are you okay up there?" called a worried voice. Without thinking, he immediately replied that he just had a headache and he needed some time to rest.

"Okay, bedrooms are at the top. As in _very_ top." The voice tinkled away like little bells but Grovyle was already unconscious on the staircase to notice.

"This is why I hate having guests how sleep over." Celebii griped when she found him sleeping soundly, albeit uncomfortably on the staircase. Dusting flour off her hands, she levitated the sleeping Grovyle up into the bedroom.

As the green Pokémon awoke, he found that he was not on the staircase as he had assumed, but on a soft, flat bed of leaves. Patting the soft bedding, Grovyle realised it was a tuft of leaves on top of the tree. It was sheltered by other overhanging branches, casting protective shadows over the beds and in the narrow trunk was a little hollow storing a tiny candle and a book near another green clump of foliage.

Grovyle decided that he would go back down the tree and after dropping down through some larger branches, he found himself _outside_ the house rather than _inside_ it. He cursed and peered through the tiny knothole in the wood. Through it he could see a window in the opposite side of the tree trunk.

He clambered over to the other side, squeezed through and landed in a heap on the stairs.

"We're glad you could join us!" Grovyle looked up from his position on the floor and scowled at the resident human on crutches. Nagi grinned and offered a stick.

"Need a crutch?"

"That was… a terrible joke."

Never before had Celebi anticipated the event of having a human sit at her table so Nagi made do with the floor. Sitting awkwardly with her leg stretched out as to not pull the stitches, Nagi accepted the tiny cup of tea the pink legendary handed to her.

"So, my dears. Why are you here?" asked Celebi after stirring a teaspoon of sugar into her beverage.

The two travellers exchanged a quizzical look.

"Well… You did lead us here without asking questions," Grovyle settled back into his chair and looked directly at the pink Pokémon sitting across from him. "And I think it's more fitting if we asked _you_ the questions instead."

Celebi straightened her delicate white cup and settled her hands. "Why do you say that?" Celebi asked in puzzlement, her tone suggesting otherwise.

Grovyle leaned forward in his seat.

"You can time travel." He stated.

Nagi's eyes widened until they were as round as dinner plates. "If you send us back in time, we can recover the unbroken Time Gears and bring them back into the future then restart time!" Celebi nodded sagely but questioned a single flaw in her plan.

"What happens if the past world thinks you're stealing the gears for some selfish reason and not for the better? Are you prepared to become fugitives and be hunted while you are in the past world?"

Grovyle wouldn't let a minor detail mar the perfect plan that had suddenly presented itself to him. "We'll explain it to them first," he said quickly. "I'm sure they'll understand."

Celebi shook her head in exasperation. "This is why mortals can't meddle in the affairs of Legendaries," Celebi stared almost malevolently at the two. "It is not that easy."

"If even one thing goes out of place, it doesn't need to be significant: an accident or even taking down a key Pokémon in the past… you can endanger the entire future world. This world will disappear into the abyss, painfully dragging the both of you piece by piece with it." Celebi tilted her head up, face carefully calm.

"What then?"

**Thanks for reading this! **

**Please tell me what you think about it so far.**

**You can virtually stone me to death after we get through this story because I keep leaving cliffhangers and updating so slowly. Here, *Hands you a stone. Happy now?**

***I know 'telekinesified' isn't a word but A) I don't know a word to describe it. It's like they've been grown out of the wood of the tree but not naturally. B) If you know a better word, review and tell me it. Make sure you get the spelling, definition and where it's from before I actually use it. Otherwise, kudos to whoever finds me a word better than 'telekinesified'. **

**Reviews are like sunlight to my dark, dark future world~! :)**


	9. Past

**I am back again and I'm sorry about being so late with chapters! .**

**I need to thank everyone who is still with Grovyle, Nagi and I on our journey up until now. We are officially more than halfway through! :D**

Past 

(Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Wimey)

"Wait… explain that again. Why can't we take the Time Gears again?" Grovyle frowned in confusion. Nagi and Celebi sighed in unison.

"If you do something to the past, it will affect the future. Simple as that," Celebi stated.

Grovyle rubbed his temple. "So why can't we take the Time Gears?"

"If we take them back here, that means in the past the gears were taken and the past will fall into darkness different to _our _past. So our history will change and if things happen differently, we may end up different." Nagi waved her hand in exasperation. "It's like if we kill your father, you will cease to exist because he died before he could produce you and thus, you never existed at all so you will disappear."

"Right, if you screw up the past and irrevocably change the future we will all cease to exist and be sucked into the void." Celebi added.

Grovyle still looked blankly at the two.

"It's just wibbly-wobbly."

"It's just timey-wimey."

Celebi and Nagi shared a look and grinned at their synchronicity. Grovyle shook his head.

"Women…" he muttered.

Grovyle and Nagi spent their time idly whiling away the pseudo-hours at Celebi's place, reading books and replenishing supplies, but even after a day of rest, Grovyle was impatient to set off again.

"There's no point." Said Nagi, flipping a page of a book printed in footprint runes. "There's nothing we can do in the future and Celebi doesn't trust you enough to let you into the past."

Nagi eyed Grovyle as she flipped another page. "Frankly, I don't trust you with the past either; you're too rash and impatient… take now for example."

Grovyle scowled at the human sitting on the bed and slumped grumpily on the other side of the room.

_I'm at a dead end,_ Grovyle thought with vehemence. _How am I going to fix the future now?_

"Don't forget that I'm also injured." Nagi added. Flipping the last page, she tossed the book onto the pile eating up the floor space next to her.

The 'days' passed by and Nagi healed. Being able to walk allowed her to explore her host's house but seeing the bedding arrangements at the top of the tree, Nagi decided to stay in the room near the kitchen. Celebi started shrieking at Nagi after seeing the glimmer in her eye but Grovyle (being Grovyle) paid it no mind even though two floors down, the girls were talking about him.

Several times, he resisted the urge to sneeze.*

The 'days' turned to lacklustre 'weeks' which yielded nothing but an irritated Celebi and rebutted Grovyle with Nagi acting as a mediator.

Finally, Celebi announced that she was off to find more apples as their stock had diminished quite rapidly, feeding three times the usual. It was a strange sight to see Grovyle, Nagi and Celebi all shouting each other down over who would find the apples as either host or guest. They ended their farcical argument by all going together.

They had only walked a little ways in when a small Houndour, nose glued to the soggy floor, spotted Grovyle wandering around.

Barking madly, the little pup charged up to Grovyle and was swiftly dodged with little effort. The dog rounded back and soon, it wasn't just a Houndour chasing Grovyle, it was an entire pack.

Each knew Beat Up and had some sick addiction with using it.

Grovyle dodged the odd fireball and flung himself around the corner, scrabbling wildly on the slick leaves that carpeted the floor.

"NAGIIII!" he hollered as he ran down a corridor, apples bouncing frenetically in his bag.

"What?" she snapped as the wood gecko Pokémon exited the narrow passage and burst into the room.

"Can't I gather apples in… peace?" Nagi's eyes widened in shock as Houndour after Houndour poured into the chamber after Grovyle.

"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO PISS OFF THIS MANY, GROVYLE?" Nagi shrieked. Together they ran from the baying hounds from hell literally snapping at their heels, apples forgotten.

The best case scenario was to get to another floor and (hopefully) escape from the pack of slavering dogs. However, they would have to _wait _at the staircase for any missing adventurers to catch up. As neither Nagi nor Grovyle were keen on waiting for very long, they opted for searching instead.

The contract for their fortune was that the floor was huge and full of little rooms squirreled away in tiny niches and nooks.

Celebi was also a moving target.

Who absolutely _loved_ to use Agility.

…

You can see where this will lead, can't you?

Sure, they had found Celebi but they had run headlong into her as more and more Pokémon joined the chase for fresh game.

"You both have horrid luck." Celebi grumbled as they continued downwards into the Forest. They spiralled deeper and deeper, picking up the odd seed and orb. The trio neared the end of the Forest, wearily trudging their way toward the last staircase.

Celebi suddenly stopped, the other two turning around in confusion.

"Don't you want to go back?" asked Nagi as Grovyle huffed his impatience.

Celebi nodded and reached into her bag, retrieving an Escape Orb.

Grovyle looked suspiciously at the Legendary.

"There's something at the end that you don't want us to see." Grovyle deduced with a tone of finality.

Slowly, Celebi nodded and held out the orb. Low growling caught all of their attentions. Two Houndoom snarled at the three.

Of course, both Celebi and Grovyle were extremely flammable. Add Houndoom's Dark-type attributes with Beat Up and soon, Celebi, Nagi and Grovyle were surrounded with two snarling packs of dogs.

They were screwed.

"RUN!"

All three scrambled down the stairs and into the last room but the two packs followed – completely against the natural rules of the Dungeons. A black maw snapped at Celebi's hand, sending the Escape Orb flying to shatter against the wall. Running still, they found a spinning vortex of data spiralling madly into a tiny white point in the blue streams of time.

"What is this?" Nagi gasped in awe of the cyclone.

"My Passage of Time. It traverses Space and Time and deposits you in a certain place in the past or future. I use it to move through time but only if the trip spans centuries." Celebi soured.

"Send us through, Celebi." Nagi stared levelly at the Pink Legendary.

Celebi looked at Nagi, shock written over her small face.

"You know I can't, dear. Besides, I don't even know if you two will make it out of the tunnel in one piece if I don't go with you!" Celebi argued.

"Yes, but it takes time for you to teleport more than yourself and we would have to be still for that to happen. If those Houndour decide to attack us while you teleport, we're dead meat." Nagi shot back.

"If we look threatening, it _will_ give me the time to teleport all of us away."

Nagi looked sceptically at the female Pokémon.

"You're both grass types. They _know_ they have the advantage so how the hell can you threaten them?"

Celebi grimaced.

"But-"

"GET DOWN‼"

A fireball flew at the arguing girls, flames reaching out toward the more flammable of the two. As Celebi naturally flinched in fear, wiry arms grabbed her shoulders and pulled her down, dodging the attack. The attack grazed Grovyle instead, carving a blackened strip across his shoulder causing the leafy flesh to smoke horribly and Pokémon to holler in pain.

The Houndour took the chance to leap forward, all jaws snapping as Nagi did her best to sideline the majority of them while Celebi tended to Grovyle's wound in shock.

Had she been wrong about the fellow grass type? His race had always been stiff and cold, uncharacteristic for the grass type stereotype. Celebi had just assumed that he was on this farcical mission purely for himself and the gains thereafter but perhaps she was wrong. A light blush feathered over her already pink complexion as she shakily apologised and thanked Grovyle, casting Aromatherapy on his burnt shoulder.

"Nagi, get ready to jump into the portal!" Celebi shouted as she strengthened her resolve. She deftly wrapped Grovyle's shoulder in a clean strip of linen before helping him up onto two feet.

"Really?" Nagi pushed back against a drooling firedog and turned.

Celebi gently pushed at Grovyle who stared at her with disbelieving eyes.

"Just think of this as repayment for saving my life, Grovyle." She whispered into Grovyle's ear.

Grovyle took one last look at Celebi and nodded once in silent thanks.

Celebi and the portal shone a bright blue, Nagi and Grovyle waved once at their guardian and friend and jumped in.

The wave of growling Houndour pounced and in an eye-searing flash the human, both Pokémon and portal had disappeared.

It was a curious sensation: one of being pulled apart slowly, piece by piece and then slowly rematerialising at the other end of Limbo. All Nagi really felt was the cool water lapping at her bare arms and the ticklish brush of blades of grass at the end.

Slowly, carefully, Nagi's eyes cracked open to be assaulted by bright colours and light so permeating that is stained her eyelids red. Wincing in pain, her eyes glued themselves shut yet again. Nagi released the breath the hadn't realised she was holding.

Inhaling, so many different types of scents assaulted her nose. Groaning, she rolled onto her front finding it to be more comfortable. She heard the soft _swash, swash_ of water on a bank, the _criii, criii _of a nearby Pokémon. She felt small blades of grass tickling her arms, even the dappled sunlight on her back warming flesh that had never seen the proper light of day even before she was born. Scents of cool, damp soil and the aroma of flowers wandered through the air permeating under every leaf and wafting through the trees carried by the breeze.

Slowly cracking her eyelids open, her sensitive eyes watered in the harsh light of the setting sun despite the leafy canopy overhead. Glancing around, she spotted a wayward Zigzagoon careening into a bush. Upon disentangling itself, it looked around and trotted off again in unpredictable dashes.

Scanning the too-bright scenery, Nagi noticed a green-brown lump in the grass that was suspiciously Grovyle-shaped. Nagi staggered upright and lightly tapped the unconscious Pokémon. Groaning his displeasure, he cracked an eye open and promptly howled in agony. His eyes, after being in the darkness for a lifetime, were not suited to the brightness of almost a century ago.

Grovyle's eyes adjusted much quicker than Nagi's for only a few minutes later did he sit up properly and squint at the still half-blind human next to him.

"We're in the past."

Nagi dourly looked at her partner.

"Yeah, because the sunlight and explosion of colour were no giveaways at all."

Blinking several times, Nagi said, "Aren't you meant to be more green than brown?"

Grovyle looked at his skin, browned from the lack of sunlight and scarred from a lifetime of struggle. He looked at his partner and was alarmed at how pale she was.

"Aren't you meant to look more… tanned?"

Her skin was almost translucent, dark veins spider-webbing under the opaque layers of epidermis. Her hair was a strange shade of blue, almost the colour of a clear stream had it not been caked with mud. Nagi's eyes were also dark, like the world they had come from and Grovyle had no doubt that his were no different.

Blinking several times more, they both realised that the light was fading. Fear blossomed in their hearts, gripping their spines with chilly fingers. Stepping lightly they exited the dim forest and ended up on a small plain of bobbing grass and rolling heather, the strong breeze of the sea carrying the smells of the salty ocean up onto the cliff top Nagi and Grovyle had found themselves on.

The sky was an explosion of colour. Nagi and Grovyle sat in awe of the plane above them slowly changing colours from dark indigo, blue, peach, blood-orange and fading to yellow and the bright flaming ball slowly sinking into the horizon of orangey waves.

Nagi sighed in content.

"We finally saw the sun."

Grovyle stared at the fading colours and gazed upon the stars slowly winking into existence. The tiny pinpricks of light were reflected in Nagi's dark, soulful eyes and a cresent of a moon creeped out from behind a cloud scudding slowly along the sky.

Nagi sniffed.

Grovyle looked over and saw tears trail slowly down her cheeks, alarmed at her sudden decision to cry. She swiped quickly at her eyes with a weak chuckle.

"I never knew that just a sunset would be so beautiful." She mumbled. Grovyle was silent but also felt deep in his heart, guilt for all of the denizens in the future. All of them were struggling in the darkness and he was sitting around looking at sunsets. Ignoring the pang in his chest, he stood quickly and walked away from the cliff and back into the forest, Nagi following close behind.

"Where should we start looking?" Nagi asked. Grovyle reached into his bag and rummaged around before finally producing a tiny, travel-worn book. Flipping through he read in the twilight, _'The Time Gears of Temporal Tower are said to be guarded by nature and nature alone. No Pokémon is ever allowed to touch the Gears for fear of eternal damnation. Only certain abilities that are said to transcend time and space is able to locate these Time Gears. These abilities have many names, though the more common is the _Dimensional Scream. _Taking these manifestations of Legendary power from their secret place is said to bring calamity to the world.'_

Shutting his precious book, Grovyle turned to Nagi. "We're going to have to use that ability of yours."

The two opened their Wonder Map. It had mysteriously changed to show a ragged coast bordered by plains and arid land before meeting a large Pokémon town surrounded by mountains in the east and several lakes and a desert in the north.

"Where are we now?" Grovyle asked and Nagi pointed to a small, glowing section in the far eastern coast near a small, forested mountain range.

"Should we to take a look around that mountain range?" asked Nagi. "There could be some myths about the Time Gears around."

Grovyle prodded the forest near the far foot of the mountain.

"How about we start here? _Fogbound Lake_ looks like a good place to hide the Time Gears." Nagi brushed the paper that Grovyle had poked and her vision blurred.

"I don't feel so great…" Nagi murmured before the world swayed and her vision blacked.

_**Drought Stone? That rock you picked up? Try sticking that in there.**_

Sound rushed back into Nagi's ears and the dim light of twilight greeted her tired eyes.

"Was that…?"

"A Dimensional Scream? According to your book, I think so." Nagi rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to rid herself of the throbbing within.

"Was there a Time Gear in your vision?" Grovyle sat next to Nagi, Map clutched firmly within his hands.

"No." Nagi frowned in an effort to remember her vision. "I think I heard a voice saying something about a _Drought Stone_."

"What's a Drought Stone?" Grovyle asked and Nagi shrugged in response.

"How about we go find out?" She said and got to her feet.

After a moment, Grovyle handed Nagi the Wonder Map again.

"Try touching other places on the map. Maybe it'll happen again." Nagi frowned, not keen on facing another four dizzy spells. Then again, it was for the Time Gears so she sat back down and placed the Wonder Map on her lap.

Nagi's fingers lightly brushed over the surface and her eyes were closed. Sliding north, Nagi's fingers touched the Eastern Forest and all sound ceased as if someone had shoved Flaafy wool into her ears.

Sound and light filled her closed eyes and Nagi saw a darkened figure approaching a glowing Time Gear. The Time Gear was a brilliant blue-green and rippled in effervescent colour. As Nagi inspected the intricate circular crystal, her heart beat fast and a deep, almost primal emotion welled up within her. The emotion was not quite excitement, but neither was it awe or fear. The best Nagi could relate it to would be anticipation, like an itching in your fingers to grasp something unattainable.

As the figure took the shining Gear, the bright green pattern that surrounded the gear slowly disappeared with a soft whir. The dark figure turned around and ran full pelt away from the site. There was a rumbling and in a spark of frothing power, bright lightning spread outwards and where the light touched, darkness spread.

_Is time beginning to stop in that area?_ Nagi wondered. Her eyes followed the lightning as it spread through the forest. A small, darkened Pokémon was struck with the passing light and it froze mid-run. Nagi fought the urge to throw up. Her vision went white as the time stop reached her and she closed her eyes from the glare. She tried to throw her arms up to protect her face but they stayed frozen against her sides. Fear coursed through her body, would she be frozen forever like this? A moment passed and she could still feel herself shaking, but thankfully, not frozen. Cracking open her eyes, she briefly saw the sky and leaves frozen grey, looking uncannily like the future until her vision blacked.

"Grovyle," Nagi was trembling, fingers icy as they curled stiffly around the worn paper of the Map. "Time will stop if we take the Time Gears."

"Did you see if there was a Time Gear in the Eastern Forest though?" Grovyle asked, gently shaking her shoulders. Nagi gave a firm nod and her fingers resumed to trace random lines into the Wonder Map. Nagi continued to find Gears through their Map and with the last one; she dropped the Wonder Map as if it was burning.

"Quicksand Cave, Crystal Cavern, Eastern Forest and Fogbound Lake." Nagi lay back in exhaustion.

"That's only four, Nagi. Where's the last one?" asked Grovyle, anxiously turning the Wonder Map around and around as if hoping for a blinking arrow pointing at a glowing miniature gear with a message saying 'Here I am, here!'

"I don't know, okay. I can't answer all of your questions!" snapped Nagi as she rested an arm over her tired eyes.

Grovyle scowled then shoved the Wonder Map back into his satchel.

"Do you know if any of the Time Gears are unguarded?" The wood gecko Pokémon asked. Nagi weakly glared up at Grovyle before replying.

"The Eastern Forest was the only place where I didn't see any form of guard." She mumbled.

Grovyle sat on a small boulder and deliberated. Nagi was in no shape to go anywhere and judging by the slow rise and fall in her chest, she was already asleep. The silvery crescent moon slowly swanned across the sky and cast a soft, bright light onto the two travellers. A cool wind blew by and Grovyle shivered, not accustomed to the strange sensation of moving air upon his skin.

Settling lower, Grovyle pulled out his book again and began to read in the bright night.

…_if such even should happen, it is theorised that returning Time Gears to Temporal Tower would reverse the effect of a time stop. Such theory has never been proved so it is unlikely that the method would work. It has been recorded that the Gears were protected by various Pokémon until the invasion of humans. It has been recorded that the Gears were protected by various Pokémon until the invasion of humans. It has been recorded that the Gears were…_

And Grovyle fell asleep.

The sun glistened off something shiny and flashed into Grovyle's eyes. Grovyle finally identified the shiny object to be one of the stones in Nagi's bracelet. Groggily, the grass type looked around and realised that the sun was already quite high in the sky. Leaping to his feet, he ran over to Nagi who had rolled on her side. Luckily for her, she was still in the shade of a tree.

Roughly shaking her shoulder, Nagi woke with a start.

"How long have we been sleeping?" shouted Grovyle, almost in a panic.

Nagi looked around in confusion before coming to the most logical conclusion.

"Quite a while. As to why, I think it was due to our trip through time," Nagi rubbed an eye and yawned. "Celebi told me we might feel extremely tired after arriving at our destination in time." She frowned.

"That was only two days ago but it feels so long."

"We're running out of time, Nagi! We need to get going and head for the Eastern Forest." Grovyle roughly dragged Nagi to her feet and pulled out his compass.

Nagi sighed and waited for Grovyle to find his bearings. Her teeth audibly ground together in boredom and when her partner finally started off, she dutifully followed.

Their pace was fast though both were completely accustomed to it. Slowly, they became used to the rustling wind and the occasional scurrying Pokémon. The only thing they did not come across was another human.

"There aren't any human cities on the Map." Stated Nagi and Grovyle grunted noncommittally. Nagi dropped the subject then.

The first sign of human activity they saw was a small dam being built across a river. The second was a flat of land where a hundred trees had been razed and all that was left was a stumpy patch of spindly wood and chips of bark. The dam was thick and bulged awkwardly around the middle. Tiny humans spidered across the surface as huge metal claws winched massive hunks of steel and iron across the gap, slowly making the space smaller and smaller.

"Come on. We're wasting time." And Nagi turned back into the mountain's forest to skirt the bare patch of logged land. Grovyle took one last scathing look at the monstrous dam and quickly followed after.

Slowly, the mountain forest gave way to thicker trees that blotted out the light. Huge plants grew higher than Nagi's head and some as they passed, wriggled in response to the intrusion. As the ground grew more uneven, tripping on roots became more hazardous. Grovyle, who was born to live in forests such as these, found purchase on trees and on top of massive green boulders whereas Nagi slipped through huge gaps of gnarled roots more than once.

As the trees thickened even further – thicker than three Snorlax, reckoned Grovyle – and the path grew even more treacherous, a faint aqua light permeated the dark forest. Rounding the last massive tree, Grovyle and Nagi entered a tiny clearing. In the centre of the bare ground was a Time Gear.

The Time Gear thrummed with power, filling the air with ancient power. An intricate stand of light glowed around the Time Gear, pulsing gently, shedding light that chased away the night. As Nagi looked upon the artefact, her pulse raced and the same mysterious emotion from the Dimensional Scream enveloped her.

Grovyle, however, strode purposefully up to the slowly spinning Gear and swiftly swiped the object.

"GROVYLE!" shrieked Nagi just as the area started crackling with raw energy.

"What?" Yelled Grovyle, alarmed at the sudden tremors.

"You've just stopped time in this place!" Nagi screamed and they turned tail.

Grovyle ran, easily outstripping Nagi's slower human pace and watched as sparking bolts of electricity spun in crazy arcs. They passed many other Pokémon, Nagi screaming for them to run. As Grovyle watched, many of the nearby Pokémon were struck by the bolts of energy and froze midstride. Only then did he feel a sickening lurch in his stomach as the Pokémon caught unawares were zapped and became one step closer toward the future from which Grovyle came from.

Neither stopped running, even though the paused area settled into a silent grave for the damned.

"We need to get to the Highland." Grovyle stretched after he had his breath back from running and thought of how easy it was to find and take the Time Gear even though the area it was in had frozen. Feeling a little uneasy, he scanned the sky. They were at a cliff top closer to the large Pokémon town in the centre of the map. Below was a tiny beach protected my large cliff walls and a small cave.

"Hey, do you see something over there?" Nagi pointed at a tiny spot on the horizon that shifted slowly across where the dark sky met the grey sea.

Grovyle squinted and made out some sort of Pokémon who coasted along the waves, staring down into the glassy depths as if it were looking for something.

"Maybe we should go talk to-" Grovyle turned to find a fine trail of dust settling back to earth with Nagi already over the hill and down a path toward a beach. Sighing, he gathered up the Time Gear and shoved it into his bag, following his partner down the rocky slope.

As Nagi barrelled down the hill she almost slammed into two Pokémon also walking toward the beach. She awkwardly skipped over the squat Pokémon, dodged the flapping one and tumbled down the rest of the way.

"Hey, hey! Are you okay?" trilled the Pokémon. Opening her eyes, she saw a Wigglytuff and Chatot peering worriedly down at her. Smiling, she nodded and sat up, greeting the two Pokémon.

"Eh? You're human!" Cried the Chatot, flapping indignantly. "How can you understand us?"

Nagi grinned as explained that she came from a place where humans and Pokémon had to understand each other for survival.

"Ah, if only all humans were like you." Chatot bemoaned. "Not like the brutes in the Eastern Forest."

Wigglytuff clapped happily and proclaimed Nagi to be a friend. Handing her an Apple, he said, "We're visiting a friend down here. Would you like to meet him too?" Chatot let out an indignant squawk.

"But Guildmaster, didn't you make a solemn vow to-"

"But they're friendly friends aren't they?"

At that moment, Grovyle, sliding down the loose sand, trotted over to his partner conversing with the new Pokémon.

"Nagi, what are you playing at?" he groused, crossing his arms. Nagi dusted herself off and told Grovyle that Wigglytuff and Chatot were going to meet a friend. They all walked up to a large cluster of rocks that had tumbled off the cliff above them, the gentle swell lapping quietly at the brownish boulders.

The small spot on the horizon neared the four, enlarging to form a Lapras. Said Lapras eyed Nagi warily, mouth forming the words to ask, "Why is there a human here?"

"Nagi-Nagi is our friend!" Wigglytuff cheered, "So is Grovy-Grovy!"

Grovyle scowled at the new nickname ("That's even worse than 'Green Bean'" he muttered) and stiffly greeted the Lapras. "It's just Grovyle."

The Traveller Pokémon smiled in a way that suggested he knew that the other really didn't mind the name.

"Are the both of you okay?" he asked. Lapras eyed the entities from the future with critical eyes. "Or have both of you been living under a rock?" Seeing confusion in their eyes, Lapras gestured to their sun-deprived appearances, "People of our time would not look like this naturally."

Nagi and Grovyle shared a look: Grovyle wanting to explain their predicament to the Pokémon, Nagi reluctant to speak about where they came from lest the explanation ruin their past.

"Do you want to go to the Highland?" He asked suddenly, flippers swirling the water into mini whirlpools. Shocked, the two looked at the swimming Pokémon and then at each other.

"Yes." Grovyle blurted out without thinking, just as Nagi said 'No'.

"Why?" Chatot peered in the dim light, appraising their new, suspicious friends.

"That's none of your business." Grovyle snapped.

"Both of you, stop it." Nagi laid a hand on Grovyle's shoulder, restraining him from attacking the leering bird.

Turning to the Lapras, she asked, "Can you take us to the Highland?"

The Lapras nodded.

"What's in the bag then, dear?"

Both Nagi and Grovyle froze and both their eyes flickered to Grovyle's bulging bag.

"It's just… part of our future." Muttered Nagi, not convincing anyone. Lapras's eyes narrowed. Wigglytuff snuck up behind Grovyle and opened the flap, the Gear's bright glow illuminating the area around them with a bluish light.

"You have a Time Gear!" screeched Chatot.

"N-no, you don't get it! We need the Time Gears for the future. They need to be in Temporal Tower, not floating around on the ground. If you don't, Temporal Tower will collapse and the future will be destroyed!" Gabbled Nagi before clapping a frightened hand over her mouth.

"That's still no reason to steal them for yourselves!" cried Wigglytuff, serious for once.

"We're _not_ stealing them for ourselves," shouted Grovyle indignantly. "We're trying to save the future! Didn't you hear her?"

With a furious screech, Chatot flew at the wood gecko and flapped angrily at him beak digging painfully into his arms.

"Stop it!"

A blinding white light enveloped the area and everything blew away in the resulting wind. Wigglytuff, crouching in the blackened epicentre opened his eyes and saw Chatot fluttering back from a few feet away, Nagi and Grovyle – having crashed into each other and collided with a rock – sat up groaning. Lapras resurfaced, having dived underwater to avoid Wigglytuff's fury with a less than pleased expression on his face.

The Time Gear, haven fallen out of Grovyle's bag spun slowly in the air glinting in the predawn light.

Instantly, Grovyle was up and running for the Gear. Before his foot even left the ground, a shadow snaked its way up his leg and tugged making him fall face first into shadowy muck. Behind him, Nagi screeched as black tendrils wound their way up her legs and arms.

Wigglytuff, Chatot and Lapras watched with a mixture of amazement, fear and shock on their faces.

"Please, just put the Gears into Temporal Tower before it's too late!" Shouted Nagi as a puff of darkness swallowed the two time travellers up and dissipated into little chunks of shadow that faded into nothing as the weak rays of dawn illuminated the Time Gear revolving slowly on the sand.

The three Pokémon on the rocks shared a look and Wigglytuff gently took the Time Gear within his paws.

"We had better return this to where it came from."

**Whew, that was a killer! **

**Twelve pages of Nagi, Grovyle and their adventures. OAO **

**Sorry for making this chapter so much longer.**

**Firstly, I have to thank all who have reviewed so far: it's because of them that I'm not starving (for attention), From Darkness to Light has continued for this long and my insomnia has become productive. **

**Anyone know where Nagi and Grovyle went in the future? What will Wigglytuff and Chatot do with the Gear? Any guesses as to what is going to happen next?**

**Yes? Then click on the little link at the bottom of this chapter and REVIEW!**

**Lastly, this will probably go on for a few more chapters then finish. I may make a few omake (epilogues/extra stories) at the end just to keep the love alive.**

**Reviews are like the sun to the future world~!**


	10. Present

**Agh, this is so late! I originally intended this to be released with a rewrite of Chapter 9 (Past) but I completely forgot and now it's already in the new year! OAO**

**Sorry, but this plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone! .**

**So a very belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!**

**Present actually takes place before the Another chapter which explains where Nagi's bracelet came from.**

Present

It had been eleven months, twenty-nine days and approximately eight hours since they started on their journey.

Not that Grovyle was counting or anything.

Grovyle did notice Nagi keeping a Gold Ribbon she had happened across while they were in some forgotten dungeon a few weeks ago. Now the fabric was in Nagi's hands along with a couple of stones she had picked up too.

Grovyle, above all else, hated superfluous items and a useless Gold Ribbon and a couple of rocks fit perfectly into that category.

"What are you doing, Nagi?" Grovyle lost his patience (there wasn't much of it in the first place) and asked. Nagi looked up rather quickly and smiled, casually covering her work with a hand.

"A little project. Why do you ask?" Nagi smiled innocently at the green Pokémon and kept her face carefully straight.

Grovyle stared at the human, silently analysing all of her miniscule motions and timing her blinks. He assessed that it was not 'that-time-of-the-month' nor had they had any arguments in the past few days – he considered that an achievement – but it still bothered him when Nagi hid 'projects' from her partner.

"Nothing."

One day and approximately sixteen hours later, Nagi handed him a gold bandanna with a polished stone clasp.

"Happy Anniversary!" she crowed.

Grovyle stare in puzzlement at the gift. "Huh?"

Nagi rolled her eyes in exasperation. "It's exactly a year after we met and set out on our journey."

"Oh…" All of the secrets were made clear.

"But I haven't got anything for you." Grovyle looked guiltily at the bandanna.

"That's alright, I can wait. Just lighten up and smile a bit, Green Bean!" Nagi was still smiling and not unhappy in the least. "So, where do you want it?"

Grovyle paused and thought about his new present. "Neck." He decided.

Grovyle sat still as Nagi tied the cloth loosely around his neck and thought about what he could make for her as a present.

"It'll be late, though. You can't give late presents, right?" Grovyle mused.

"There." Nagi stood back to admire her knot.

"Thanks. Do you want to take a break now that we've stopped?" Grovyle asked.

"Sure."

The two settled on the bank of a frozen river, collected water and munched apples. As Nagi left to forage for more berries and apples, Grovyle sat dismally and stared into the river's bottom.

"She doesn't seem like a person who would like jewels," Grovyle thought while absent-mindedly kicking a pebble into the paused body of water. "And I don't have anything to make a gift with."

A little glimmer at the bottom of the river caught his eye. Looking closer, Grovyle spotted other similar objects shining in the dim light. Grovyle shuffled closer and reached into the water. He rummaged around in the mud for a while until he drew out the first piece of his puzzle and then got to work.

Nagi came back with a bag half full of apples, and the other half full of berries.

Grovyle met her with a present.

"Grovyle?" Nagi asked as she dropped her bag onto the ground, raising a puff of dust.

"Here."

In his hands was a leather strap with sparkling river stones neatly set into the fabric with a type of natural glue. The remains of the leather partition in his bag littered the river bank along with a tiny bowl of tree sap dribbling onto the white stones that littered the bank.

The stones glued to the leather strap changed colour in the dim light, blue to green for the large stone and pink to purple for the two guarding the centre piece on either side. The leather itself was soft and supple, the decoration side being strong and wide while the two end strings thinned to tie behind the wrist.

"Here, I'll help you tie it on." Nagi allowed Grovyle to twist a knot into the string looped around her wrist.

"When did you make this?" She asked as she examined her present with interest.

"Just then."

"You're not going to tell me about how you made it, right?"

Grovyle's mouth twisted into a grin.

"Yup."

Nagi stared in wonder of the gift, tears welling up in her eyes… and promptly tackled Grovyle with a hug.

"Thank you so much! I'll never take it off again." Grovyle struggled against the steel grip of love and gave up, opting to gently pat his iron maiden on the back until she let him go, fighting back the wave of embarrassment and guilt.

Grovyle wondered if Nagi would throw away all traces of him as easily if one day he cast her aside.

**Good? Bad? Annoying?**

**Tell me!**

**MERRY BELATED CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

**Reviews are like presents for Grovyle, Nagi and I~ We appreciate them. :D**


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